Jerzy TCHÓRZEWSKI (1928-1999), Tree and Woman, 1955

gouache, paper; 34.5 x 49 cm (in light of passe partout);
Signed l. d.: J.Tchórzewski 55.

Jerzy Tchórzewski is considered one of the most important artists in Polish postwar art. He made his debut at the First Exhibition of Modern Art in Cracow in 1948. After graduation, he moved to Warsaw, where he began working at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1954 and was awarded the title of professor in 1987. Tchórzewski's paintings have been described as those that "reflect an awareness of foreboding chaos." His works intertwine surrealism and abstraction, as well as the eternal rediscovery of the human figure. He himself has said of his work that he "tries to wring energy out of the dead matter of painting." His work, on the one hand, arouses anxiety through expressive forms, but also attracts through its strength, energy and mystery. As Tadeusz Różewicz wrote of Tchórzewski, "I warmed my cold hands by the fire of his painting."